Infrastructural Landscapes: Integrating Renewable Energy with Landscape and Community in the Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia

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The Bay of Fundy is home to the highest tides in the world and among the strongest currents. The Minas Passage is a narrow body of water in the upper Bay of Fundy with a 13-metre tidal range and water speeds of 7-8 knots, providing an ideal landscape for tidal energy. The only in-stream tidal demonstration facility in North America is located along the Minas Passage, connected to the Nova Scotia Power grid. Tidal energy supply is intermittent, varying with the tides. Supplementing tidal with energy storage allows for a continuous supply of renewable energy. This thesis proposes a pumped hydro energy storage facility along the Minas Passage that integrates renewable energy infrastructure with landscape and incorporates community program, to provide an interactive architecture that makes evident the natural and energy processes that sustain it.